


Five Christmases

by ithilien22



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-26
Updated: 2009-12-26
Packaged: 2017-10-13 00:42:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/130910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ithilien22/pseuds/ithilien22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first five Christmases that Noah spent with Luke: a set of five 200-word drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Christmases

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Livejournal user samurailatoya for thehayloft's 2nd annual Holiday Gift Exchange. The prompt was _Luke/Noah drabbles of cuteness._

### one. [mistletoe]

The first Christmas that Noah spends without his dad is also the first Christmas he spends with Luke. It's almost surreal how different the celebrations of Luke's crazy, bustling household are from what he had come to think of as a quiet, orderly holiday. It's overwhelming at first – the sheer amount of people, the constant activities and traditions, and even just being alone with Luke.

 _Luke_ , who Noah is really (though he would never dare to say it out loud) starting to fall in love with, and who is also a recurring star in the kind of fantasies that make Noah blush nearly every time he even looks at Luke's grandmother. The problem is that in real life, he and Luke haven't even gotten to second base yet and the ridiculous amount of time since their last kiss weighs down on him more and more each day.

He's too out of his element to make the first move, though. It all matters too much to him. What if he picks the wrong time? What if he does the wrong thing? So when Noah sees Lily hanging the mistletoe, he makes the first Christmas wish he's made in a long time.

 

### two. [Christmas tree]

Heading out of Java, the cold air hits Noah like a punch to the gut and he pulls his coat in a little tighter. All he can think is that there's no way that his hot coffee will still be hot by the time he makes it back to his dorm. He pulls a face and petulantly throws the untouched drink away in a nearby trashcan. He feels sort of childish but mostly just pathetic.

He glances up at the tree that stands in the center of Old Town and immediately thinks of Luke. The fact is, he doesn't want to be headed back to his empty dorm room. He wants to be headed out to the farm to eat Grandma Emma's cookies and to let Faith beat him at video games and…to see Luke. Maybe he is just being too stubborn. But even if he did drive out to the farm – what would he say?

He looks down at the fake presents wrapped beneath the tree and an idea comes to him. He heads across the street to the department store and tries not to think about what will happen if Luke doesn't get him anything in return.

 

### three. [wrapping paper]

When Noah loses his sight, he feels like his whole world has come crashing down around him. He only goes to the clinic because he honestly doesn't know what else to do. Being with Luke right now is just…too much. He thinks maybe if he can figure out a way to do this by himself, _without Luke_ , then it will all be better somehow, or easier.

Of course, that plan is worthless from the beginning. He _needs_ Luke. He wishes to God that he didn't, but he does. Everything at the clinic reminds him of Luke – especially the night nurse who shares the soft timbre of Luke's voice (to the point that sometimes Noah lets himself pretend that Luke is really there with him).

He tries not to think about Christmas either, but it's almost as useless as trying not to think about Luke. On Christmas eve, Noah enters the common room to the familiar sound of crinkling paper – someone opening a gift from home, no doubt – and the surge of homesickness that hits him nearly knocks him to his knees. In that moment, he knows there's only one place he belongs: with Luke. To him, Luke is home.

 

### four. [gingerbread cookies]

Emma swats at Luke's hand when she catches him trying to sneak a cookie. "Those are for Ethan to leave for Santa tonight!" she scolds.

Luke replaces the cookie and kisses his grandmother's cheek in apology. "I just can't help it. You know gingerbread is my favorite."

Emma laughs and makes a big gesture of giving him one of the precious cookies after all. Noah is playing cards with Faith at the dining room table and he watches the exchange with a smile.

"You're making your goofy Luke face," Faith informs him, snapping him back to the game at hand.

"My what?"

"It's this gooey-eyed look you sometimes get when you look at my stupid big brother," Faith tells him, "and it's kind of gross, in case you were wondering."

Noah laughs and playfully swats at her. "Gee, thanks. You know, you should be nice to me. It's Christmas."

"Hey, you're fair game now," Faith says with a smirk. "Now that you guys are married, that makes you my stupid big brother, too. So I'm allowed to make fun of you."

Noah just smiles and shakes his head, but inside his heart clenches. He's never been a big brother before.

 

### five. [Santa Claus]

"You know, I'm kind of getting a little old for this," Ethan tells them in a tone only an eight year-old could manage, standing in line waiting to see Santa Claus at the Oakdale mall.

"Oh, I know, I know," Luke replies wryly, "it's such an indignity."

Ethan rolls his eyes, but Noah knows he actually doesn't mind so much. Ethan mostly just likes to have something to complain about. He sort of takes after Luke in that way (though Noah is smart enough not to make that observation aloud).

"Next!" An elf comes forward and whisks Ethan away, up a couple of steps to the platform where Santa himself is seated grandly. Noah smiles when Ethan is lifted onto Santa's lap; now that he's away from his brothers, he actually looks pretty excited.

"I want one of those," he hears himself say. He immediately wants to take the words and jam them back into his mouth, but it's too late.

"One of what?"

When Noah doesn't answer, Luke looks over at him. "Wait, you mean a kid?" he asks, startled. Noah blushes and looks away, but Luke reaches out and takes his hand.

"I want one of those too."


End file.
